Wareholder shaker



Nov. 9, 1965 w. K. cox 3,216,550

WAREHOLDER SHAKER Filed March 27, 1964 INVENTOR WAYNE KA COX f@ @WM 9;@

A TTORNE KS.

United States Patent O 3,216,550 WAREHGLDER SHAKER Wayne K. Cox, Paden City, W. Va., assigner to Corning Glass Works, Corning, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 27, 1964, Ser. No. 355,344 7 Claims. (Cl. 198-33) The present invention relates to a wareholder shaker, and more particularly to a shaker adapted to vibrate or shake dinnerware so it is flat and centered on a wareholder.

In the art of producing ceramic dinnerware, it is well known to finish such ware with a glaze. Among the prior art methods of applying a glaze, suitable for use in a mass production operation, are circular spray glazing machines in which the ware is moved in a path and at one station in the path it is covered by glaze applied as a spray within a closed chamber called a spray booth. In such spray glazing machines, it is conventional to obtain an even coating of glaze over the upper and lower surfaces of the ware being finished by rotating the ware during the spray coating. While spray glazing machines embodying this type of operation may be designed to accommodate movement of the ware in a straight line, a popular type of spray glazing machine employs a turntable operation. On such a machine, a circular turntable is provided with a number of wareholders carried on vertically mounted spindles placed along the circumference of the turntable. Each individual spindle is free to rotate, and as the turntable rotates, each spindle is carried through a spray booth within which the coating operation takes place. As each individual spindle enters the spray booth area, it is engaged by a driving means and rotatably driven, in order to assure even coating of sprayed glaze upon the ware carried by the wareholder.

In such commonly used machines, ware placed upon the warehoder if even slightly off center relative to the center of rotation of the spindle is subjected to unbalanced centrifugal forces when spun during the spray coating process, and is thrown from the wareholder within the spray booth. Thus, the ware not properly centered before entering the spray booth is lost from production. Where no attempt at proper centering of ware was made, this loss rises to a significant portion of the production.

Heretofore, the sole procedure available for centering ware was essentially manual, and therefore was dependent entirely upon the skill of the individuals placing the ware onto the wareholders. Plates and similar articles are supported on prongs, and the prior procedure involved grasping the wareholders and manually shaking them quickly back and forth, several times. Such shaking would cause the atware to vibrate into a more nearly centered position, and reduce the loss from ware being thrown from the wareholders. However, regardless of the skill attained by the operators in jogging llatware into a desired position, significant loss of production continued to occur, as ware was spun during the coating process.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved and automatic apparatus for centering ware by oscillably shaking the wareholder, and a unique mechanical arrangement for imparting theser oscillations to moving wareholders.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the following description and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, which discloses, by way of eX- ample, the principle of this invention and the best mode which has been contemplated of applying that principle.

In the drawing:

FIGURE l is a side elevation view of a portion of a wareholder apparatus embodying the wareholder shaker of the present invention;

c Ice FIGURE 2 is a top plan view, in partial section, of the apparatus of FIGURE 1.

In general, this invention employs an oscillatably driven belt member positioned to be in frictional drive relationship with moving spindles supporting wareholders on which ware may be carried in to a spray booth, prior to ware entering the booth. The oscillation of the belt causes rotary oscillation of the spindles during movement thereof, and this in turn vibrates or shakes the wareholder and ware so as to cause the ware to move into a position over the axis of rotation of the wareholder in which all centrifugal forces are balanced.

The wareholder shaker of the present invention may be more fully described in conjunction with the drawing from which it should be noted that full details of the known turntable and spray booth employed in the spray glazing operation are not included. Such turntables are commercially available, and onlyl the elements necessary to understand the present invention are illustrated. A circumferential support 10 extends around the outer periphery of a glazing machine turntable (not shown) and supports and journals the lower ends of a number of wareholder spindles l1, evenly spaced about the circumference of the turntable. At the upper end of each spindle 1, a wareholder may be mounted to receive and convey suitable ware to be placed. At a predetermined station in the path of the turntable, the spindles 1l, the Wareholders, and ware carried by the spindles will enter into a spray booth to be spray coated, while being rotated, as discussed above.

Adjacent the lower end of each spindle Il is a drive pulley 12 xedly attached thereto. As spindle 11 is moved into the spray booth, the pulley 12 is engaged by any suitable drive means (not shown) which causes the spindle Il, wareholder, and ware to be rotatably driven. For purposes of explanation of the present invention, it is assumed that the turntable is moving in a clockwise direction (see the arrow in FIGURE 2), viewed from above, placing the spray booth to the right as viewed, in FIGURE 2.

At the upper end of spindle 1I may be placed a wareholder Z7 appropriate for the ware being glazed. The wareholder 27 is formed from a short tubular segment 28 which is properly sized to fit over the spindle 11, may drivingly engage the spindle, and carries three prongs 29. For use with flatware, such a plate 30, the prongs 29 are formed with their upper ends parallel to the tubular segment 28. The prongs end is a point, so as to engage only a minimal area of the ware, since the area engaged is not so evenly coated with glaze.

With the upper portions of the prongs 29 being parallel, ware placed on the prongs may be intially positioned oi center. A rapid oscillatory movement of the wareholder 27 causes the ware 30 to move on the prongs until the heaviest portion reaches the lowest position, due to the slight taper of the undersurface of the atware. The spacing of the prongs 29 at 120 is such that this adjustment process also centers the ware over the center of rotation of the spindles 11.

In order to assure that ware may be centered on the wareholder at the time it enters the spray booth, the present invention provides a drive means which may engage the pulleys 12 carried by the spindles 11 to cause the spindles to oscillare rapidly. This oscillatory movement causes the ware to be shaken and vibrated on the wareholders and due to the shape of the ware and wareholders (not shown) assume a centered position over the center of rotation of the spindles I1 and wareholders, in which all centrifugal forces are balanced. The oscillatory drive is transmitted to the pulleys i2 by an endless double V belt 13, moving with oscillatory reciprocating motion in friction drive relationship therewith. The belt 13 is positioned tangent to a circle described by the path of bodily movement of pulleys 12 with the turntable and therefore the pulleys 12 as they move along the circumferential path just prior to the entrance of the spindle into the spray booth.

The belt 13 is carried on two pulleys 14, 15. The first pulley 14 and shaft 16 are mounted for free rotational movement, and pulley 14 serves as an idler pulley only. The second pulley 15 is rigidly carried on a drive shaft 17 which is oscillated to provide the reciprocating oscillatory movement on the opposite runs of the endless belt 13. The shafts 16, 17 are carried by and journalled in supporting framework 18, which functions merely to support the elements of the apparatus in the desired relative position, and need not be of the precise form or shape illustrated.

In order to drive the drive shaft 17 in oscillatory rotary motion, an electric motor 19 or similar suitable actuator is provided. The drive is through a belt transmission 20 to a multisheave pulley 26 attached to intermediate shaft 21. The shaft 21 is thus continuously rotated and it carries an eccentric crank pin 22. A connecting rod 23 is journalled on crank pin 22 and pivotally connected at its opposite end to a link 24 which in turn has its opposite end fiXedly attached to the drive shaft 17.

Rotation of the eccentric 22 causes a reciprocatory and swinging movement of the connecting rod 23, as indicated generally by the doubleheaded arrows adjacent rod 23 in FIGURE 2, resulting in pivotal movement of the link 24 about the axis of the drive shaft 17. As the link 24 and drive shaft 17 are rigidly connected, the movement of the connecting rod 23 is converted to oscillatory rotary motion of the drive shaft 17. This motion is transmitted to any spindle 11 moving into contact with the adjacent run of endless double V belt 13. The motor 19 and shaft 21, similarly to the drive shaft 17 and idler shaft 16, are mounted on the frame 18.

In operation, ware 30 is placed on wareholders 27 at a first station along the path of movement of the coating machine turntable. As the turntable moves, the spindles 11 carrying the wareholders 27 are moved past the location of the shaker of the present invention, and toward the spray booth. As each spindle 11 moves past the shaker, the pulley 12 engages the double V belt 13 along a short portion of its path of movement. The spindle, while continuing to move toward the spray booth with the general movement of the turntable, is driven in rotary oscillation by the double V belt 13.

The amplitude and frequency of oscillation of the double V belt 13 is established so as to cause an adjustment of the ware 34B within the prongs 29 of the Wareholder 27, by moving the heaviest portion of the ware into the nadir of the three evenly spaced prongs 29. This adjustment centers the heaviest portion of the ware over the spindle 11, preventing unbalanced centrifugal forces which would throw the ware from the wareholder from arising.

As varying degrees of shaking or oscillation are found more suitable for centering various sizes or shapes of ware, it is desirable on occasion to modify the amplitude or frequency of oscillatory movement with which the double V belt 13 moves. A change in the amplitude of oscillation may be accomplished by changing the relative lengths of the connecting rod 23 and link 24, while the frequency of the oscillatory movement may be varied by changing the relative speed ratio between the drive motor 19 and the eccentric shaft 21 by means of multisheave pulley 26 or the like.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to the preferred embodiment, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for moving wareholders and ware bodily through an operation zone in which the Wareholders are rapidly rotated and uncentered ware would be thrown from a wareholder by unbalanced centrifugal forces, an apparatus for shaking the wareholder to vibrate ware carried thereby to a centered position thereon, the apparatus comprising: an oscillatable member positioned adjacent the path of movement of the wareholders to be in fractional drive engagement therewith during bodily movement by the machine of the wareholders past said member, and drive means for oscillating said member to thereby oscillate the wareholders and cause the ware to become centered.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1, in which said oscillatable member is an endless belt carried by an idler pulley and driven by a drive pulley, said belt engaging connecting said actuator to said member through the drive pulley.

4. An apparatus as in claim 2 in which the endless belt has one run tangent to an arc described by bodily movement of the wareholder.

5. An apparatus as in claim 4 in which said belt is a double V, with one V engaging pulleys on the wareholders and the second V engaging the idler and drive pulleys.

6. An apparatus as in claim 3 in which said motion converting means comprises an intermediate shaft driven by the actuator, an eccentric crank pin on said intermediate shaft, a connecting rod journalled on said crank pin, and a drive link pivotally connected to said connecting rod and ixedly connected to said drive pulley to oscillate about a axis thereof.

7. In a machine for moving wareholders and ware bodily through an operation zone in which the wareholders are rapidly rotated and uncentered wave would be thrown from a wareholder by unbalanced centrifugal forces, an apparatus for shaking the wareholder to vibrate Ware carried thereby to a centered position thereon, the apparatus comprising: an oscillatable endless double V belt carried by an idler pulley and driven by a drive pulley, the pulleys engaging one V of said belt, said belt having one run tangent to an arc described by the bodily movement of the wareholders, the second V of said belt frictionally engaging the wareholders during a portion of the bodily movement along the arc to drive the wareholder in rotation, an electric motor, an intermediate shaft driven in continuous rotation by said motor, an eccentric crank pin on said intermediate shaft, a connecting rod journalled on said crank pin, a drive link pivotally connected to said connecting rod at one end and xedly connected to said drive pulley at the other end, to oscillate about the aXis of said drive pulley and thereby drive said belt and wareholders in oscillation.

References Cited by the Examiner SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner, 

1. IN A MACHINE FOR MOVING WAREHOLDERS AND WARE BODILY THROUGH AN OPERATION ZONE IN WHICH THE WAREHOLDERS ARE RAPIDLY ROTATED AND UNCENTERED WARE WOULD BE THROWN FROM A WAREHOLDER BY UNBALANCED CENTRIFUGAL FORCES, AN APPARATUS FOR SHAKING THE WAREHOLDER TO VIBRATE WARE CARRIED THEREBY TO A CENTERED POSITION THEREON, THE APPARATUS COMPRISING: AN OSCILLATABLE MEMBER POSITIONED ADJACENT THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE WAREHOLDERS TO BE IN FRACTIONAL DRIVE ENGAGEMENT THEREWITH DURING BODILY MOVEMENT BY THE MACHINE OF THE WAREHOLDERS PAST SAID MEMBER, AND DRIVE MEANS FOR OSCILLATING SAID MEMBER TO THEREBY OSCILLATE THE WAREHOLDERS AND CAUSE THE WARE TO BECOME CENTERED. 